Ask a Picture Book Editor

If you've created an episodic plot, you will be on Route Rejection faster than an editor can skim your first lines.

Basically, this means that the plot is a list of things the character did.One thing follows another.

It has a beginning, middle and end.

It has a main character who sets off on a
journey.

They get there in the end.

But . . .“SO WHAT?”

Everything has EQUAL WEIGHT.

There is no drama, no tension, no story.

To avoid this pitfall, ask yourself:

• Does my main character’s problem emotionally
engage the reader? Is there enough at stake?

• Do things get worse for the main
character with each episode as the plot progresses?

• Is there a clear, climactic turning
point where the reader cries out, “oh, no!” and turns the page to see how
everything will be resolved?

Imagine if the plot in Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler’s best-selling Room on the Broom were simply:

A happy witch and
her cat set off on a broomstick ride.

A dog comes
along and asks for a ride.

A bird comes
along and asks for a ride.

A frog comes
along and asks for a ride.

A storm comes
along and . . .

. . . it makes the
broomstick snap in two

The cat, dog,
bird all fall off the broomstick into a bog.

The witch flies into a cloud and gets lost.

A dragon appears

The cat, dog and
bird scare the dragon.

The witch is saved.

The witch says
thank you to her new friends and they fly off into the moonlight.

This plot reads like a list: this happened, then this happened, then that happened. The listy things have equal weight. The reader really doesn’t care a hoot about any of
these characters or what happens to them. There isn't enough at stake.

Instead, Julia Donaldson creates a page-turning read:

A happy witch
and her cat set off on a broomstick ride on
a windy day (foreshadowing – the wind will be trouble!)

It starts to
rain (making it worse) and the witch
accidentally drops her precious wand in a pond (oh, no, how will they find it in such a wet place . . . ! Note the
rule of three here – three things happen and then there is a shift.)'

The frog is the
ideal source of help this time. (Plus, he’s
so polite and helpful, we like him as well.)

Oh, no, NOW the
storm makes the broom snap in two . . . (even
worse – NOW all the animals fall into a bog!) AND the witch flies into
a cloud with a SCARY DRAGON in it! (make things
much, much worse for your main character and keep doing it . . .)

The witch really
needs help and now, no help can be found. (Oh,
no!) AND the dragon is about to eat her . . . (this is your climactic turning point, where the drama has built up
to the max. There is a lot at stake here.)

BUT . . . IN THE NICK OF TIME, (now we need something unexpected to shift in the plot) a horrible
beast rises from the bog and says, “Buzz off! – THAT’S MY WITCH!” (whew! The clever twist is that it's the dog, cat and frog working together to become the horrible beast.)

The beast scares
off the dragon (the resolution. This
works because readers really care about all the characters now.)

The witch is
really grateful, so she mixes up a spell and out comes . . .

. . . a truly magnificent broom, complete with seats
and a shower for the frog and a nest for the bird(the satisfing ending has a fun twist. It takes
readers full-circle to the opening, but now the witch has new friends and an
improved broomstick to match)

If there were a witch, what if she lost her
three most precious possessions? What if a storm came along and actually
snapped her broomstick in two? What if a dragon came along and she’d met her
match? What if he actually wanted to eat her up and she couldn’t find a way
out? How would she re-solve this?So, next time you’re plotting a book, think
about how you can up the ante constantly as you develop your idea. This will
mean your action won’t read like a list, but like a story arc with emotional
tension that makes readers really care about the outcome.

Natascha Biebow is
an experienced editor, mentor and coach, who loves working with authors
and illustrators at all levels to help them to shape their stories. www.blueelephantstoryshaping.com

this is really great. Natasha expand this and make it into a book. Not too complicated though just adding more ideas for conflict and what ifs. I would buy it. This made everything so cyrstal clear.Well done!!! we need more please.

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